04/02/2025
A Message to the People of the Book: Jews and Christians
Dear people of the Book,
Throughout history, God has sent His messages to humanity and revealed His scriptures as guidance and mercy for all nations. The Quran, as the final divine book, came to complete the previous revelations and correct the distortions that occurred in the Torah and the Gospel, guiding humanity toward the truth.
The Quran does not ask you to abandon your faith, but rather to correct the alterations made to the previous scriptures. It invites you to uphold the original teachings of the Torah and the Gospel and reveals the truths that have been concealed over time. The Quran does not oppose your belief in the scriptures you have; instead, it calls for faith in all that God has revealed to His prophets, including the Torah and the Gospel, and urges you to follow the principles of monotheism and worship God alone without associating partners with Him.
God has ordained a unique law and path for every nation, and if He had willed, He could have made all people one community, but differences exist as part of His divine test. He says:
“To each of you, We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good. To Allah is your return all together, and He will [then] inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.” (Al-Ma’idah 5:48)
On the Day of Judgment, every nation will be judged according to the scripture revealed to them. However, due to the distortion that occurred in previous scriptures, it has become necessary to refer to the Quran as the final and preserved source of truth. As Allah says:
“And you will see every nation kneeling [from fear]. Every nation will be called to its record [and told], ‘Today you will be recompensed for what you used to do.’” (Al-Jathiyah 45:28)
The Quran is the only book that God has promised to preserve from corruption, unlike the previous scriptures that have undergone alterations. He says:
“Indeed, it is We who sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will be its guardian.” (Al-Hijr 15:9)
As for the Torah and the Gospel, they were altered by some of their followers, and God warned against this:
“So woe to those who write the Scripture with their own hands, then say, ‘This is from Allah,’ in order to exchange it for a small price. So woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they earn.” (Al-Baqarah 2:79)
One of the major distortions was the claim that Ezra (Uzair) is the son of God among the Jews, and that Jesus is the son of God among the Christians, a claim that God refutes in the Quran:
“The Jews say, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah’; and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’ That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before them. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?” (At-Tawbah 9:30)
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) grieved deeply over his people’s rejection of the truth, so Allah reassured him:
“Then perhaps you would kill yourself through grief over them, [O Muhammad], if they do not believe in this message, [and you are] sorrowful.” (Al-Kahf 18:6)
As for Jesus (peace be upon him), God will testify on the Day of Judgment that he never asked people to worship him or his mother, but rather called them to worship Allah alone:
“And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, ‘O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, “Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah”?’ He will say, ‘Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, You are the Knower of the unseen.’” (Al-Ma’idah 5:116)
Furthermore, Jesus was not crucified, but rather, God raised him up to Himself. Those who believe in his crucifixion are mistaken, as God cast his likeness upon another person. Allah states:
“And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them.” (An-Nisa 4:157)
The Quran is a guidance for all humanity. It teaches us how to live in harmony with the teachings of previous prophets and how to uphold the original messages they brought. When we reflect on the Quran, we see that it does not call for abandoning faith, but rather for correcting false beliefs and affirming the oneness of God.
O Allah, show us the truth as truth and grant us the ability to follow it, and show us falsehood as falsehood and grant us the ability to avoid it.